TimeShift
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TimeShift for Linux is an application that provides functionality similar to the System Restore feature in Windows and Time Machine tool in Mac OS. TimeShift protects your system by taking incremental snapshots of file system at regular intervals.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Country of Origin
Ireland
EU
Platforms
- Linux
Features
TimeShift News & Activities
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- CommanderPho reviewed TimeShift
Extremely easy to use and keep function backups. The backups themselves are incremental, meaning they're very light. Helpful for maintaining a working linux system and when all goes wrong it can be used to restore the entire boot drive.
- Fadikkop liked TimeShift
- OpenSourceSoftware added TimeShift as alternative to Restic Robot
Ramon302 added TimeShift as alternative to Crow Backup- DeVeras liked TimeShift
TimeShift information
Developed by
Linux Mint Licensing
Open Source and Free product.Rating
Average rating of 4.8Alternatives
30 alternatives listedSupported Languages
AlternativeTo Category
Backup & SyncGitHub repository
- 3,193 Stars
- 112 Forks
- 293 Open Issues
- Updated Jun 10, 2025
Comments and Reviews
What a great program. Now you can tinker with your Linux installation to your heart's content without any serious consequences. No meddling with virtual OS'es for the same reason needed. If that's not cool I don't know what is.
Extremely easy to use and keep function backups. The backups themselves are incremental, meaning they're very light. Helpful for maintaining a working linux system and when all goes wrong it can be used to restore the entire boot drive.
I really like this tool to add layers of protection to my Linux Mint, which makes me more prepared in cases of error of my OS, helping me to recover it and avoiding my loss of files!
An excellent backup tool, and probably one of the simplest for Linux I've ever used.
I really wish you could save to a network location though, or select a different location than "/timeshift."
Easy system backups for noobs and other humans
TimeShift is a lifesaver. I discovered a new bug that killed major part of my connectivity. Nothing worked. Used Timeshift and was running again within 10-15 minutes. It does not backup your home files by default, not meant to replace backups. This could be the thing that saves you an entire day of work trying to fix something vs. being fixed in few minutes.
I have this application installed on my Linux Mint computer. I've used it at least 15 times so far, and it works very well. If I am not mistaken, it uses RSYNC as the backend, although BTRFS is also possible.
I set up Timeshift to automatically back up most of my files on the root partition, excluding a few like /dev, /proc, and others that I can't recall right now. Timeshift will take a snapshot of certain folders so that you can go back to it when needed. Since most programs I install end up in /bin, /etc, /opt, or /usr, by backing this up, I am able to revert these folders to a previous state. That way, if some upgrade of a package goes horribly wrong, fixing it is easy.
You can also set a schedule for Timeshift to back up your folders at certain intervals. For me, I back up every week and keep a list of the last 4 backups before automatically deleting the oldest one.